Blame hormones
by Haylii-Baylii
Summary: Tenten has never felt any more attracted to a guy her age than she has her own sensei. ewe. But one evening training session can change all of that. NejiTen T for slight language.
1. A tangled mess

**A/N: I was going through all my "stories" and reading them and decided to post this one. I wrote it one day when I was bored and have no idea where its gonna go. I may not even write a second chapter. But I still hope you enjoy it.**

**Disclaimer: (I always forget to put these on) Kishimoto pwns Naruto.  
xXxXxXx**

She tried to drone out the others conversation. She just didn't need to hear it right now. She shoved her face farther into the pillow but could not quite seem to block it out. She, Sakura, Ino, and Hinata were all sleeping over at Sakura's house, so far she was completely excluded from the conversation.

"Hey Tenten, why are you hiding under a pillow?" asked Sakura poking her.

"Yeah, this is the first reunion we've had in a while! Enjoy it." Said Ino yanking the pillow away from her.

"I'm sorry, I just don't feel I can contribute to this conversation. That's all." She said defensively.

"What? We're only talking about boyfriends? What's so bad about that?" asked Hinata.

"I just think a boyfriend is a waste of a girls time." She said.

Each girl had a boyfriend. Each girl except Tenten. Sakura was finally reunited with Sasuke, Ino, after being turned down by Shikamaru, went out with Kiba, who was turned down by Hinata because Naruto had finally asked her out, leaving Tenten without a guy.

"Is not!" said all three girls defensively.

"Is too. All love does is distract you from missions and training."

"Your loss." Said all three returning to their conversation. The truth of why she was saying that was only because she felt there wasn't a decent guy in this whole village.. Suddenly feeling like this whole sleepover was a mistake she got up.

"I'm gonna go, I forgot I have to do something at home." She said gathering up her materials and leaving.

"That's ok! You can come back when you're done." Sakura said yelling after her..

"Ok!" she yelled back. She knew she wasn't going to so she decided she was going to let off some steam and go train. She dumped her stuff at her house and ran down to the training grounds. She approached it and saw someone else was there. Her heart fluttered when she noticed it was Neji.

She looked down at her heart, why the hell did it do that? She had been on the same team with him for years.

Now wanting to disturb him, she watched him train for a while.

Disturbingly, she noticed that she liked the way his hair would move as he did and the way his lavender eyes sparkled in the moonlight. She was so preoccupied with these things that she didn't see that he saw her. So when he called out, she felt embarrassed.

"Tenten? What are you doing here?" he said coming over to where she was hiding.

"Umm… I was just coming to train. I was waiting until you were done." She said.

"Well I need a partner you can train with me." He said helping her up. They both took their stances. Neji made the first move. He ran at her trying to take her down with a barrage of punches. She easily dodged them and all the while sending kunai back at him. He reflected them with Eight Trigrams Palms Heavenly Spin. She grabbed the scroll from her back and accidentally let go of it. It hit Neji who got tangled in it and when Tenten ran over to untangle him she managed to get stuck too. They were both caught in an awkward position. Neither could move without touching the other so they stayed put. Tenten looked up at Neji. His face was covered in both sweat and dirt which made his eyes stick out. When he caught her staring she looked away. With his free hand he redirected her face towards his. She blushed tremendously. She stared up into his eyes. _Is he going to kiss me?_ She thought. She tried to lean in and kiss him but that resulted in her head hitting his chin. They both grimaced.

"Sorry." She muttered looking away and feeling stupid.

"Uh, how are we going to get out of this?" Neji asked shifting trying to get free.

"Well, um, maybe you could lift your left arm and slid it over my head and—

"But I can't move my left arm." Said Neji.

"O-oh, I could slid my leg," she said starting to move it, "From behind yours and – AH!" she said as she lost her balance. They both fell into an even more awkward position, with Neji on top of her. She snuck a peek at his face, it was beet red.

"Um, hem, uh, T-Tenten? I can't move anymore than I could before." He said trying to lift his chest off of hers so it wasn't smushing her boobs. Tenten tried to wiggle out from under him but her legs became entangle with his. She sank down in defeat.

"Looks like we're stuck." She said turning her head sideways so she didn't have to look at Neji's face.

"Yeah, I guess." He said shifting uncomfortably.

An awkward silence followed. Neji broke it.

"So, um, why aren't you at Sakura's?" he asked tentatively.

"How did you know I was going to be at Sakura's?"she asked swinging her head to face him.

"U-uh, Naruto told me." He said.

"Well, I got bored. I just wanted to train a little before I went home. Why are you here?" she asked.

"Same reason." He said.

Another awkward silence. This time Tenten broke it.

"My feet are starting to get cold." She said immediately regretting saying it afterwards. Neji blushed.

"W-want me to put mine on yours, or something." He muttered. Tenten was taken aback by this.

"U-uh sure. Thanks." She added smiling. Neji tentatively moved his feet over toward hers. Tenten noticed they were just as cold as hers.

"Yours feel cold too." She said smiling.

"Y-yeah, it gets pretty cold at night." He said turning his head to look over the training grounds. Then a thought struck him.

"Can you reach the kunai in my pouch?"

"S-sure I g-guess." She said moving her hand around trying to find where his pouch was. She came in contact with the one on his leg.

"Not that one. The one on my backside." He said not realizing where he was directing her.

"Ok." she peeped. She moved her hand upward and her fingers came in contact with his ass. What's worse was that she wanted to squeeze it. She must of unconsciously gave a little squeeze for Neji gave a jerk.

"U-um up-p a l-little higher." He stuttered. Tenten blushed tremendously.

"Sorry." She squeaked. She moved her hand and came in contact with the pouch he had been talking about and grabbed the kunai from inside.

"Good, now I want you to stab upward, hopefully you'll cut through the scroll." He said.

"I can do that." She brought the kunai up forcefully and poked a hole in the scroll.

"Now slice upward." He said. She started to bring the kunai up Neji's back and sliced through the whole thing leaving her arm draped around him. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"Finally."

"Y-yeah." She said looking up at him. He was looking at her also. For a fraction of a second she thought she saw his head move towards hers but before she knew it he was up and off of her.

"I-I have to get home." He said looking towards the direction of the Hyuga compound.

"Me too." She said turning away.

Tenten hurried back to her house and slammed the door and locked it.

A million thoughts were going through her head.

_I can't believe I wanted to grab his ass!_

_I almost kissed him!_

_What is wrong with me?_

_This is Neji I'm talking about._

_The same Neji that's been on my team for years!_

_The same Neji that has a nice ass._

She slapped herself.

_Snap out of it Tenten! _

_You don't let things like this distract you!_

_You don't date!__And you certainly don't like Neji._

**A/N: Well thats it. Review for any errors of the grammatical type and if you enjoyed it.  
Flames accepted.**


	2. Sleep deprivation and starvation

**A/N: While the other chapter is a result of boredness, this is a result of procrastination. My homework isn't done yet. :) Anyway, I wrote a second chapter, and am debating on a third. I'm not sure if I can stretch any farther. I do hope you enjoy this chapter though!  
Disclaimer: Naruto is pwned by Kishimoto.**

Tenten rubbed her eyes and went into the bathroom to comb her matted hair. She was surprised she didn't have any bald spots, with all the times she yanked on it the past night. She was having weird-ass dreams about making out with Neji. And every time she would jerk awake, she would either pull at her hair or claw at her face to make sure that it was just a dream.

Staring at the bushy haired, puffy faced, girl in front of her she grimaced and put her hair up into messy buns.

Her stomach gurgled, but not because she was hungry, it was because she had to see Neji today.

"Ugh, today is gonna suck." She groaned. Her mother looked at her funny as she plopped down into her seat.

"Why is today gonna 'suck'?" she asked Tenten.

"Well, if you must know, I was having weird dreams and woke up in increments of 10 minutes all night! I'm tired." she said exasperatedly.

"Oh that's good. I thought it might be, you know," she winked, "that time of the month."

"OH MY GOD! Mom! No its not that! J-just don't mention it again." She said eyeing her father at the other end of the table who seemed to be innocently reading the paper but she knew he was eavesdropping.

"Ok then, what do you want for breakfast?" her mom asked.

"If its ok I think I'll just go have ramen." She said getting up from the table and heading for the door. She hoped a nice bowl of steaming hot ramen would set her straight. After all, last night, when she started having those weird thought about Neji, she hadn't eaten at all. So maybe this was some kind of food deprivation issue.

At least that's what she tried to convince herself.

The old man at Ichiraku was busy preparing for the day so his daughter came and asked what she wanted.

"Uh, the usual." She said laying her head down onto the countertop.

_God, I am so tired. And it is so comfortable __here,__ maybe I'll just rest my eyes._

She thought as she drifted to sleep.

And there she was, on the ground again, with Neji on top of her. But this time they weren't tangled up in a scroll, Neji was actually laying on top of her because he wanted too.

She looked up at him. He wasn't wearing his usual blah expression or the tentative one he wore when they were tangled up before, this one was one she had never seen before.

Tenten dubbed it as horny.

She looked around and saw that they were surrounded by a lot of other people. They were all staring at her and some were even pointing. She blushed and tried to push Neji off of her but he felt strangely heavy. He was still on top of her, smiling a perverse smile. She looked to the crowd for help but no one made a move. She recognized Sakura, Ino, and Hinata among the faces she didn't know. They were all clinging to their boyfriends and flashing her thumbs up signs. She looked back at Neji to find him right in her face. So close that they bumped noses. All though pain shot through hers Neji looked unfazed. He just came closer…and closer…

"AAAAAAAHH!" Tenten awoke screaming. She sat up and bolted from her stool and ran down the street. She could hear the old man's daughter yelling after her but Tenten was too freaked out to care.

She stopped and collapsed onto the ground a few feet away from where she had been tangled with Neji the night before. Her heart was pounding, perspiration covered her entire body, and she looked like mess. She patted her chest.

"Be still my beating heart." She whispered. She knew she had to get these weird thoughts under control. But how? How could she if she didn't even know what was causing these weird thoughts. She kicked the ground in frustration. Then something shiny caught her eye.

It was a few feet away from her, hidden in the grass. Weary, but curious, she got up from her resting spot and went to investigate. Expecting to find some priceless family heirloom all she found was a kunai. Then another thought struck her, this was the kunai she had used last night to cut Neji and herself free. She picked it up and hugged it to her chest, then, disgusted with herself, threw it away from her as if it was poisonous. A sudden yelp sounded behind her.

"Tenten! Watch where you throw your kunai please!" said Lee.

"Yeah Tenten, you don't want to poke Lee's eye out." Said Gai-sensei.

Tenten slowly turned around, she knew Gai and Lee were there, so that meant…..

She turned the rest of the way around,

Neji was there too!

"Eep!" she spun back around.

"Tenten what is wrong?" asked Lee putting a hand on her shoulder, which he soon regretted because he was flying full force into a tree five seconds later.

"Tenten! What has gotten into you?" asked Gai, prying Lee out of the tree.

"Heh heh," she laughed nervously, "I'm not feeling so well, I think I'll go home. Bye!" she said as she ran away from the training grounds. She ducked behind a building and started to sob.

"I'm a mess. I'm a big ugly mess." She cried hugging her knees. She heard footsteps around her, but she dismissed them as people going to work, or wives going shopping, or kids playing around. But he startled Tenten when he sat down next to her.

"So why are you sitting in an alley?" Neji asked nonchalantly.

"T-tired. This seemed like a nice and shady spot to sit." She said putting her head back between her knees.

"Oh." He said.

"Hn." She mumbled.

"You know you can come back and train now." He stated.

"Yeah." She replied.

"So, are you going to?" he pushed.

"I don't feel so good right now." She said distantly.

"Well, I brought you some ramen. It's the one you left this morning. The woman who works there told me to give it to you." He said placing a to-go box at her feet.

"Thanks." She said not bothering to lift her head up from her knees. Feeling that it was no use to push the subject anymore Neji got up and left. Tenten heard him walking away. The gentle _pat __pat_ of his footsteps lulling her into a sense of security. It wasn't until the sound of his step died out that she came out from under her security blanket. She looked at the to-go box and opened it up.

_This isn't what I ordered._

Then realization hit her, she smiled. Neji hadn't brought her the ramen she had run away from this morning, he had bought her ramen himself.

**A/N: Aren't nervous breakdowns the best? Again review, if you liked it or if you spotted an error.**


	3. Midtraining musings

**A/N: Yes this chapter is short. I just wanted to make one in Neji's POV. So here it is. I hope you enjoy it.  
(homework is still not done. _grins devilishly_)  
Disclaimer: Pwnage of Naruto Kishimoto.**

Neji wasn't really paying attention to Lee.

He wasn't paying attention to what Lee was saying or doing, he wasn't even paying attention to what Gai was exclaiming.

It was probably something about the fact that Lee was finally beating Neji.

But Neji wasn't giving his all.

He was distracted.

Whenever he meant to throw a punch, Tenten swam into view.

Whenever he meant to dodge a blow, Tenten was clouding his vision.

And no matter what he did he couldn't get rid of her.

Lee's foot connected with his skull and he fell to the ground with a piercing _thud._ Although his vision was fuzzy he could see Lee hopping up and down, obviously celebrating the victory. Normally, Neji wouldn't have that, but ever since last night, nothing about Neji had been normal. He swore and staggered as he got up, holding his head.

"Well Lee, looks like your best was good enough today! As a treat I'm taking you and Neji out for dinner!" Gai exclaimed striking a good-guy pose.

"Woo hoo! What shall we have Gai-sensei?"

Neji didn't feel like listening to the rest. He tottered over to a tree and leaned against it.

_What the hell is wrong with me today? _He mentally asked himself. Then Tenten came to mind. He remembered her sitting alone in that alley, curled up in a ball, sobbing. A pang of pain went through him. He wondered if she had eaten the ramen he had gotten her. He didn't know if that was the kind she liked but she needed something to eat, he could tell.

His own stomach gurgled.

He needed something to eat. He turned back to where Lee and Gai had been standing only to find them not there. Funny he hadn't noticed the silence before.

He furiously punched the tree he had been leaning on.

That's what he was talking about!

He is so preoccupied with Tenten that anything other than her is blocked from his mind. His knees buckled and he slid down to a sitting position.

"What is it about her, that I can't ignore?" he murmured. Neji kept thinking of last night, when they had been tangled together. It was probably the best and worst night of his entire life.

He had been so conflicted with oxy-morons.

He wanted to kiss Tenten.

Yet he didn't want to.

He wanted to stay entwined with her.

Yet he wanted his own space.

He also recalled sweating a lot. He was so thankful that he had been training and hopefully that had covered up the sweating problem.

He had also been a little afraid when Tenten suddenly moved her face up towards his. He didn't know what to do! He had never kissed anyone before. So when she came up he panicked and tilted his head so that she would hit his chin.

Smooth move.

Just the fact that they were so close together made a little flame spring up inside him.

Neji sighed and tried to make sense of this.

He knew ever since he hit puberty his hormones had been raging inside him. But he never expected them to affect him in this way. He never expected them to completely take control of his life!

Neji couldn't deny it any longer.

He loved Tenten.

And unless he told her, these weird feelings would just build up, and become worse.

**A/N: I might make another Neji chapter, or have switching POV's throughout a chapter. I'm still iffy on a fourth one. (I know I've been saying that every chapter.) I just sometimes lose interest or get another idea. Heh heh...**


	4. An early morning encounter with pandas

**A/N: I, the incredible Procratinator, wrote a new chapter for your enjoyment. Its my goal to write a new chapter everyday until its finished but I may end up re-writing this chapter. I hope you like!  
Disclaimer: "I pwn you Naruto!" _Kishimoto said._**

**Tenten**

Yesterday was literally the worst day of her life.

But that was yesterday.

Today was today and she was determined to have a better day.

At least she didn't have to worry about bumping into Neji, today was her day off. So she didn't even bother changing out of her flannel panda pajamas and tank. She glanced at herself in the mirror. The puffiness of her face had gone away, and her eyes had went from bloodshot to a nice white, also her usually unruly hair seemed to have more bounce and shine in it today. Overall she thought she looked pretty good, so good that she didn't even need to put her hair up.

Tenten took the steps two at a time and entered the kitchen cheerfully.

"Good morning mom, dad, what's for break…fast…."

She stopped prancing when she felt a third presence in the kitchen. She spun around to see Neji sitting in a chair next to her dad, looking quite uncomfortable.

Any thoughts of her looking good this morning disintegrated, leaving just self-consciousness. Tenten remembered she forgot to brush her teeth, or wash her face.

She also remembered that she was still in her pajamas, with PANDAS on them!

After the wave of self-bashing passed she immediately ran back upstairs to primp.

_Oh my hair! _She fussed as she hurriedly put them up in buns. Tenten took a step back.

_NO! The left one is crooked!_ So she took them out and did it all over again. Satisfied, she moved onto clothes.

_Should I go with what I usually wear? Or dress up a little bit? No, I'll go with what I usually wear, I don't want him to think that I'm doing this for him. Even though I am._ So she threw on her usual and went into the bathroom.

After about 10 minutes of vigorous washing and brushing she was ready to go downstairs and face Neji.

_Ok Tenten, don't panic. You look great, you feel great, and you're not going to let any weird thoughts get in the way. No go downstairs and act natural._ She mentally told herself. Tenten felt a little better after her pep talk but she was still nauseous. At least there wasn't any food in her stomach to throw up.

She made her way quietly down the steps and pushed through the kitchen door. But to her annoyance Neji wasn't there anymore!

"Oh Tenten, a friend was here to see you." Said her mom looking up from the dishes.

"A friend, that's a BOY." Her father stressed.

"He said he'll come back later, when you were awake." Her mom interjected, she also threw a stern look in her dad's direction.

Tenten stood in the doorway, not believing what she was hearing. They SAW and HEARD her come in, didn't they? Didn't Neji see her in her PANDA P.J.'S? She sat down in a chair adjacent her dad, a glimmer of hope was growing in her chest. He didn't see her at her worst! He didn't see her in her pajamas! He missed the whole thing. Tenten was so relieved. Words couldn't even explain it.

**Neji**

_I'm glad that's over. For now, at least._

This morning when he had come over, he was ready to spill it all to Tenten. Neji figured it was better now than later, so he wouldn't have enough time to second guess himself. But when he knocked on her door, I wasn't answered by Tenten , it was answered by a much older lady, the dowdy type. She was quite kind and invited him in for breakfast. He figured 'What the hell, it can't hurt' but he was wrong.

Tenten's father was, hem, protective of his daughter. And immediately upon entering he was interrogated.

"So , who are you?"he asked setting down the paper.

"Neji Hyuga, sir." He replied.

"And what do you want with Tenten?"

"Well, sir, I'm on her team and—

"I didn't ask if you were on her team, I asked what the hell you wanted. I mean to come in and intrude at seven o' clock in the morning! She isn't even up yet." He said, already growing irritated.

"I have to tell her something important." Neji said.

"What is it? I'll be sure to tell her when she wakes up." He said, a cocky half smile upon his face.

"I'm sorry," replied Neji, meeting his gaze, "this information is top secret and I was given orders to convey it to Tenten and only Tenten."

"I'm her father, I have a right to know. Who gave you these "orders"?" he said using his two fingers as quotation marks.

"The Hokage, herself." Neji said, a smirk upon his face. He was enjoying this little charade.

"Well—

"That's enough talking," interjected Tenten's mother, "Now Neji," she said looking at him, "why don't you come back later, y'know whenever Tenten wakes up."

A small 'eep' came from behind the other side of the kitchen.

Neji looked over just in time to see a woosh of brown hair and pandas?

_That couldn't have been Tenten could it?_

"Well, thank you for your time. I'll come back later." Said Neji giving a slight bow then leaving.

_Ok, now to see what Tenten is really up to. I know she isn't sleeping anymore. _He ducked behind a neighboring building and activated his Byakugans. All though he knew this was morally wrong in every way, he couldn't help it.

_Ok, Tenten, let's see what your doing. _

He scoured the building, for Tenten lived in an apartment complex, and he had to go through a couple of people, and a couple of things he didn't need to see, to find her.

_I see you're washing your face. _

A thought crossed the threshold of his mind,

_I wonder what kind of soap she uses?_

He tried to make out the label but it was too faded to read. Then he noticed her ass, not that he didn't already know it looked good, but what really caught his attention was the fact that is was covered in a pattern of pandas.

_So I was correct earlier, those are pandas._

He examined a little closer.

A dancing panda, a fishing panda, a hopping panda, a smiling panda, a sad panda, a ninja panda, and then it repeated.

A small chuckle escaped his throat.

He was aghast with himself.

_How can I laugh at her? _

But then again, this was so….. not Tenten.

It was, literally, very childish.

_And they're so short! _

Which he had to admit he did like it that way. It showed off her nice ass.

But soon another bout of laughter followed.

He wasn't really laughing at her, he was laughing at how incredibly cute and vulnerable she was when she was in the safety of her own home.

He never even knew this side of Tenten existed.

He looked back at her.

_Uh-oh. Looks like she's starting to change._

The little flame sprung up inside him again, followed by a blush. Neji immediately deactivated his Byakugans.

**A/N: Aww, see? Neji isn't the perv fandom has made him out to be! Review it please.**


	5. Ramen and Rain

**A/N: Alright, this is probably the longest chapter yet! And this is all I'm going to have time for tonight for I am procrastinating again and NONE of my homework/chores are done. So spice up your evening by reading this chapter, I'll just do HOMEWORK.  
Disclaimer: I don't pwn Naruto. Kishimoto does.**

**TenTen**

_I hate him. _

She knocked over a box.

_I hate him._

She kicked over her trash can.

_I REALLY hate him!_

She punched a pillow.

Tenten continued her rampage. She waited, and waited, and waaaaiiiiitteedd, all day yesterday for Neji to come back but he never did. And as an added bonus to the end of the **perfect** day, she couldn't find her panda shorts!

_What gives him the right__…_

SMASH.

_To get my hopes up…._

THUD.

_And then CRUSH THEM?!_

CRACK.

_And the worst thing of all was I missed another day of training, WAITING FOR HIM!_

She picked up a gaudy green pillow from her bed and hurled it across the room. It connected with the top shelf or her bookcase and sent her figurines and everything underneath them, to the ground where they shattered into a million pieces.

"DAMN!" she screamed as she stomped over to the mess she made.

"Well, limited edition Panda-kun is gone, and so is Miss Prissy Panda, and baby Panda too?!" she picked up the fragments and threw them into her overturned trash can.

_Grreattt_

_What else could go__—_

"AACK!" Tenten slipped on something rectangular and was sent hurtling to the floor. She fell flat on her ass, next to what looked like a journal. She turned it over.

"Goddamn, no good, rotten, stinking, sucking—

She stopped.

There were little panda stickers decorating the front, and in a childlike lettering read…

**Tenten's**** Diary**

And in much larger, bolder, print was…

**Top secret: KEEP OUT!!!**

"Oh my god," she breathed, "this is from ages ago. Mom and dad got this for me, when I…." she trailed off and slid her thumb rapidly across the pink pages, they smelled like the past. She opened it up to the first entry.

_Dear Diary,_

_Today's graduation day.__ I can't wait to get a headband and follow in all the other great __kunoichi's__ steps. But I have a feeling I'm not going to like my team very much. I have Rock Lee on it! He is so WEIRD! I asked __Iruka__-sensei, like, a thousand times if I could have different a teammate, and I even was nice enough to explain why, but he just said no. He's so mean. I guess I'll have to learn to adapt. (That's a word mom told me when I asked her what I should do) One good thing is that I have THE cutest guy on my team! Neji __Hyuga__! He's the mysterious type, plus __he's really __really__ smart! I guess he only will date girls that are great ninja. So I'll have to start training ASAP if I want Neji to even look at me, and maybe, in my spare time, give Lee a couple of fashion tips. I mean cut his hair! It is so long! __Well see __ya__ later. Mom and Dad are taking me out for sushi tonight for an early graduation present. Dad has an important mission in the morning. How cool would it be if someday I got to go with him? __Really cool._

Tenten shut the book, unable to read anymore. Hot tears started to leak from the corners of her eyes.

She was so trusting, so young, so…. boy crazy. It's funny to think that she's only the kunoichi she is today because of Neji. She thought of why she abandoned her feelings for him.

_I guess I just lost interest in him as I got better and better. _

_Or maybe I just gave up hope. I mean he hasn't really ever looked at me __or__ had a personal conversation with me except for a few times. _

She stood on her tip toes and shoved the diary back on the highest shelf. She never wanted to read her childish entries again.

She took the garish green pillow from off the floor and lay her head down on it. How could she like Neji when he caused her so much pain? It was all coming back now. When they were first put on a team together she vied for his attention. She would do anything to get it. Training night and day, and always putting her life on the line to show off. Tenten now realized how stupid she must've looked. The tears came out faster as she brought to mind all the occasions where she let her emotions get the best of her, and soon she had no tears left to cry. So she let the gentle pitter patter of the rain against her window lull her to sleep.

**Neji**

He did it.He second-guessed himself.

He got cold feet and backed out at the last minute.

And now it was too late to go back.

He stared down at the panda shorts he had stolen from her room. It was a token of his obsession and he still couldn't believe he took them.

"Ok, this is way too weird." He said taking the shorts and plopping them into an open drawer. Neji trudged over to his bed and collapsed onto it, the thoughts and ideas he was having lately seemed to be weighing him down. A sigh escaped his firmly shut lips.

"Should I tell her?" he asked himself under his breath.

_What if she rejects me?_

_I might have been reading the signs all wrong. _

_She might like someone else._

_But that night…._

The night they had been entwined…

_I could've sworn I saw her try to kiss me. _

_But maybe I was wrong._

_Maybe this is all a mistake._

He stared at the open drawer which held the panda shorts. He got up and pulled them out and slammed the drawer shut.

"All right, these are going back into Tenten's room. Its…weird having them around here." He said. Sliding the door of his room open he tiptoed past Hinata's room, then Hanabi's room, and escaped through the maid's entrance. He looked up at the graying sky.

"Shit, it's gonna rain."

He ran off down the street, he needed to beat the rain, it would get Tenten's shorts all wet and then she would know they've been out of her room. He ran blindly down the street until he collided with someone. The panda shorts flew from his grip and landed on his head.

"Hey watch where you're—Neji?" said the voice with a hint of amusement. Neji pulled then panda shorts off of his head and saw the infamous spiky yellow hair.

"Aw shit…" he mumbled, he knew it was beginning, the teasing, and he would scream it so loud everyone in Konoha would know. Why hadn't he shoved the shorts in his pocket?

"Why do you have girly underwear?" Naruto said pointing at the shorts.

"They're shorts." Neji said, emphasizing the shorts part. He would never steal Tenten's underwear! That is just… below….low!

"So they are yours! Man, I didn't know you wore GIRLS SHORTS!" Naruto laughed. It made a lot of people look at them, it also made him blush. "Now your BLUSHING?! I didn't know the Hyuga smart guy could blush! Or that he wore…. Girls shorts." Naruto let his fox like grin turn into a smirk.

"THEY'RE NOT MINE! I-I—

"You stole them from Hinata didn't you?" Naruto teased.

"NO I—

"Buy me ramen." Commanded Naruto.

"What?" asked Neji, confused at the sudden change of subject.

"I said, buy me some ramen." He ordered.

"Why the hell would I buy _you _ramen?" Neji asked.

"Because I'm low on money and I'm HUUUNNGGRRYYY," Naruto whined, "and plus," he dropped his voice to a whisper, "you wouldn't want it to get out that YOU wear GIRLS SHORTS." Naruto leered.

"I, um, well, I—

"C'mon, let's go, Ichiraku is just down the street!" said Naruto slapping Neji on the back as if they were pals. Neji sighed.

"I hate you."

"But you'll love some ramen! 4 please!" he said eagerly as they sat down at the stand.

It took a few minutes of awkward silence for their food to arrive, all of which Neji stared spitefully at Naruto, knowing this was going to cost him a fortune. When it did arrive, the blonde immediately dug in, only to spit out a few seconds later.

"AAAH! Hot! Hot!" he said grabbing a napkin and rubbing his tongue with it. Neji rolled his eyes then settled them on the steaming hot bowl of ramen. He shoved it over towards Naruto.

"Why don't you just eat all of them." He said grudgingly. After all he wasn't that hungry, and he was paying for the other three bowls, so why not let Naruto have them all?

"Ok, no complaints there!" said the blonde slurping up the noodles. He stopped. "So why were you carrying around….that….um….thing." he asked, his mouth still full of noodles.

"I was returning them." Said Neji, shifting his eyes away from Naruto and down the street.

"TO WHO?!"exclaimed Naruto, spattering ramen shrapnel all over his face.

"If you REALLY have to know," Neji said, taking a napkin and wiping off his face, "They are for Tenten."

"TENTEN? YOU HAVE TENTEN'S SHORTS?!" he blurted.

"SHSSSSH! Not too loud, you baka!" Neji whispered, looking around to see if anyone had heard it. When he was sure no one had heard he continued. "You see, it isn't anything dirty. I'm NOT a pervert. They simply fell out of her bag when she was coming from her slumber party."

"Oh, I get it. So you were spying on an all GIRLS sleep over?" he asked slurping up more noodles.

"NO!"

"Then why were you around when Tenten "dropped" those shorts?" asked Naruto, his voice dripping with a mixture of disbelief and sarcasm.

"I was training! And she walked by and they fell out!"

Naruto still looked unconvinced.

"Then why didn't you just catch up and give them back to her? Did you want to keep them and like, add them to your Tenten shrine?" he inquired, a fox like grin spreading across his face.

"NO!"

"Then why do you still have them?" Asked Naruto, slurping up the last of his ramen.

"I was going to give them back earlier when YOU blackmailed me into buying you ramen!" Neji hissed.

"Whaat," said Naruto innocently, "I was hungry!"

"Well now your full and I'm leaving." Said Neji handing the money to the old man, then stomping off into the direction of Tenten's house.

"H-HEY NEJI! IF YOU DON'T WANT PEOPLE TO FIND OUT ABOUT YOUR OTHER SECRET MEET ME HERE TOMORROW AT LUNCHTIME!" Naruto shouted.

"Pffft. Not going to happen." Muttered Neji.

He approached Tenten's apartment complex and debated whether sneaking into her room like before would be a bad idea.

It was raining so she might be in her room. He climbing through her window with her panda shorts may tick her off, but he decided to go in anyway.

Climbing the fire escape he approached Tenten's window. He stopped.

_BYAKUGAN!_

He scanned the room and saw that she was in there, but thankfully she was asleep. Neji carefully slid a kunai through the crack in the window and unlocked it. Then he slipped in and placed the panda shorts where he had found them first. He was about to leave when he noticed Tenten. He crept over and took a good look.

Her hair wasn't in her usual buns, but tousled around her face.

Her cheeks were the slightest bit rosy and her lips were soft and pink.

He reached out and touched her lips, but then she started to stir. Neji, afraid of being caught, high-tailed it out of her room and out into the rain, pausing only to quietly shut the window.

**A/N: By now most of you are probably bored. They haven't talked in... FOREVER. And they haven't confessed their love yet. But don't give up yet, it'll all happen in due time.  
And I like to torture.  
:)**


	6. Confessions

**A/N: I broke my promise. I'm sorry! I had a lot of shit to do on Thursday night that I put off due on Friday so I had to do it. Not to mention the fact that I crammed for about five tests that turned out to be on Monday. Grr... So here's the new chapter, I hope you like it!  
Disclaimer: "Kishimoto pwns me." says Naruto.**

"Such a strange dream." She muttered, still in the twilight zone.

She remembered the click of a window, a loving touch, and then another click.

Tenten lazily opened her eyes. No one was there. It must have been a dream. But then she spotted the panda shorts on the floor.

"How the hell did those get there?" she murmured slipping off of her bed and onto the floor, sensations shot through her feet. "What the hell?" she lifted her foot up, the floor was all wet.

_Ok, there's a logical explanation for this. I either left the window open and Mom or Dad closed it and found my shorts._

_Or…._

_Someone stole my shorts and broke into my room. _

Tenten grabbed the kunai from her bedside table and cautious stepped around the room, looking for signs of forced entry, a hiding place, something….

She pressed her back up against the wall next to her bathroom door and carefully peeked through.

_Good, no one there._

She continued to the closet, sneaking up to the door then wrenching it open and throwing her kunai in. It just hit the back wall.

_Good, no one here either._

She looked under her bed, behind her dresser, even the little space between her book shelf and the wall.

_Then it must've been that I left the window open. And maybe Mom took my shorts to wash them or something._

That's what she tried to convince herself, but so far it wasn't working. Tenten just couldn't shake the feeling that an uninvited someone had been in here. It was like….a disrupted aura. The perfect zen of her room was disturbed.

_It has to be mom. But then again, she wouldn't just drop clean clothes on the ground like that._

Tenten picked up the multicolored shorts.

_Damp. Why are they damp?_

Any theories she had about her mom being the one who entered her room disappeared leaving one conclusion…

"Someone's _definitely_ been in here." A cold prickly feeling spread throughout her back and she whipped around. No one was there. Then a thought hit her,

"Ghosts." She whispered, edging towards the door, not wanting a lamp of a book thrown at her by an evil spirit. She had watched scary movies, the ghosts always got the poor defenseless girl left alone.

_But I'm not alone. I have Mom and Dad._

"MOM? DAD?" she called.

No answer. A little unsure she called again.

"M-mom? Dad?" now she was making her way down the steps a kunai in hand. But what would a kunai do to a ghost?

Absolutely nothing.

Her protection was gone, her parents were out, and she was getting scared. A little voice at the back of her head screamed 'RUN' but her legs wouldn't work.

Then a THUMP sounded from upstairs and that must've been her trigger.

Tenten ran like hell out of the house not caring that her hair wasn't up, she had no shoes on, or the fact that it was raining. She wasn't even sure if she had closed the door but she didn't particularly care. All she wanted was to get away from the supposed ghosts.

Faster and faster she went, the rain slapping her face and bare legs, soaking her clothes, and tangling her hair. She slowed down at the red bridge where her teams sometimes met for missions and such. Coming to a stop, her breathing heavy, she realized this was stupid. Ghosts didn't exist. Did they?

She looked behind her to the path from which she had just come, it was completely empty. Also, since it was raining, she couldn't see more than 20 feet in front of her. Everything behind that focal point was shrouded in an eerie mist.

Then, to her left, she heard the sound of a twig snapping. Her heart started beating faster. Another twig snapped to her right this time. She spun her head around to face whatever was coming but the mist was all she could see.

_SNAP. _Another twig.

She turned in that direction.

SNAP.

She turned around.

She could feel something getting closer to her, but she didn't know what or where it was coming from. Then she heard breathing behind her. She waited, listening to see if the breathing she heard was just a trick of her mind. But the breathing died away leaving the sound of the rain and the rushing river. She sighed.

_POKE._

Tenten spun around to find herself facing none other than Neji. He sorta half smiled at her and sat down next to her.

"Why are you out here in the rain? Your getting soaking wet." he said, lifting a sodden lock of hair from her face.

"I could ask you the same thing." She answered coolly, not really acknowledging that he was there. After all, she was mad at him.

"I asked you first." He replied putting his hand back beside him. Tenten huffed.

"If you MUST know, I-I….. gahskrdmmfrm." She muttered.

"What?" Neji asked, "I couldn't hear you." She knew he heard her, but he was doing this to agitate her. It was working.

"Alright AlRIGHT! I GOT SCARED. Happy?" she said folding her arms over her chest and huffing.

"What were you so scared of that you ran all the way out here, in the freezing rain." He said indicating that her lips were already starting to turn blue.

"What are YOU doing out here?" she spat.

"Tenten…" Neji sighed.

"Promise not to laugh?" she said looking a little embarrassed.

"Promise."

"Ok, well, hem, I was afraid of-of- ghosts." She said.

_Silence._

"See I know its stupid a—

"BWA HA HA HA HA HA! Ghosts? There are no such things as ghosts!" he cackled some more and rolled on his back and continued. Tenten's fist collided with his head in a sickening THUMP.

"YOU ASS! YOU PROMISED YOU WOULDN'T LAUGH! AAAGH!" she screamed with rage, hitting him some more.

"Ow, Ow, OWW! Tenten stop! I was joking!" he said shielding himself from her blows. Tenten settled down and re-crossed her arms, still looking pissed.

Another awkward silence followed.

"Tenten?" Neji asked.

She didn't reply. She continued staring at the rushing water beneath them.

"Tenten, don't be like this." He said, hopeful.

She just huffed and continued staring.

"Tenten, I'm sorry, its just that… I mean ghosts? Really."

She continued staring.

Neji sighed.

"All right, if you're not going to talk," he looked over at her, "I'm not going to talk."y

A couple of minutes of silence followed then Tenten's shivering started.

"Tenten, are you ok?" Neji asked putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I-I f-f-fine!" she snarled shrugging off his hand.

"No you're not. Just look at you. Your lips are blue, your white as a..," he paused, "cloud. Let me warm you up. Or at least take you home."

Tenten was surprised when he put his arms around her, hugging her to his chest. She had to admit, it felt nice. She could hear his heartbeat, it was a little on the fast side, but none the less calming. And even though he was as wet as she was, it made her feel a lot warmer.

_This feels so nice. _

She thought letting her eyes close.

But then she started to think.

Why is Neji being so nice to her? He's never done this sort of thing before. As nice as it felt, it was… strange.

Tenten pushed away from him, jerking him from the same half asleep half awake state. She looked him straight in the eye.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked. Neji looked taken aback. He tried to find the words.

"I was, well, you were cold." Was all he could sputter out.

"Not the hug thing, but everything in general. Neji," she said sighing, "You bought me ramen and actually talked to me, and now…. This?" she said indicating their hug. "This isn't like you."

"Well I—

"Its not bad, Neji, its just," she huffed, "different."

"I know and—

"I kinda of like it too. Its just that things have been—

"Tenten!" Neji interjected, grabbing her shoulders and breaking her from her rant.

"The reason why I'm being so nice lately is," he paused to look into her somewhat confused eyes, "the reason is," he closed his eyes, "I love you."

**A/N: Cliffhanger! Oooooo! Now I want reviews to tell me what you think so far. I get a lot of views but no reviews. So I may not post the next chapter until I have... say... 10 more reviews?  
So get to it! The review button is just underneath here!**


	7. Intimacy and an unexpected reaction

**A/N: I WORKED OVERTIME! I practically slaved over these chapters so I want you guys to read read read and then review. And I'm setting another review challenge, I want 10 more reviews before I post the next chapter. Muah ha! I hope you enjoy the chapter, I think its a lot better this way.  
Disclaimer: Naruto is Kishimoto's bitch.**

The world was spinning, her palms got sweaty, and she felt like she was going to throw up.

_I love you._

_I love you._

_I love you._

_Did he really say that? _She thought. She looked into his pale lavender eyes, she could tell he was sincere.

"W_-_what?" she stuttered.

"Tenten," he huffed exasperatedly, "I think…..I think I'm in love with you." He said again. Tenten shifted her gaze away from his.

"But _why_?" she whimpered, "Why now, all of sudden?" Neji stopped. He hadn't really thought about that. It was more like one day he woke up and Tenten was on his mind. That's how sudden it was. He had started thinking about her a little before their mishap but when they were tangled up he was sure, he was sure that Tenten was the one he loved. He tried to fit that into words.

"Well, do you remember when we were tangled up?" he asked.

"Mhm." Said Tenten on the verge of tears.

"Well, that's when it happened. I just found it so…..nice to be that close to you."

And what was scarier, Tenten felt the exact same way. She started to cry.

A boyfriend was not in the picture.

A boyfriend would mess up her perfectly molded life.

That's what she told herself the last time this happened.

But a little voice at the back of her head screamed and fought. It told her that she shouldn't worry about it, that she should go with Neji. But this little voice was so little and the rest of her mind was so big.

"Tenten," he said wiping a tear from her cheek, "I really mean it. I've never felt this way before and to tell you the truth, I'm scared as hell." He said smiling.

Tenten cried harder.

_He's scared too? How is this even possible? Neji Hyuga, scared?_

"Tenten," he said grabbing her cheek and forcing her eyes to meet his, "You don't have to cry. This isn't my idea of a joke or something. I'm not lying."

Tenten shut her eyes squeezing out more tears.

Then it happened.

In one movement, Neji had formed a seal with their mouths. He was kissing her.

Tenten stared at him, his eyes were closed. She was so astonished that her lips didn't seem to work. She turned to goo in his arms. Tenten was a useless meat puppet and all she could do was go along with it. She let her eyes close.

Surprisingly it felt good to her, it spread a fire inside her, heating her up even though the rain was freezing. And soon she found she could move her lips back.

At first it was a closed mouth kiss, with their lips just smushed together, but soon she felt that Neji was opening his mouth a little and she felt the flick of his tongue against her firmly shut lips. It sent little electric waves throughout her and left the spot tingly. She softened her lips and allowed him to slip in. He explored the recesses of her mouth slowly, making every little touch count, and as he explored further, she melted further. Then the presence in her mouth was gone and he was right in her face, his nose slightly pressed upon hers.

"Tenten.." he muttered dreamily, stroking her cheek. He leaned in and touched his lips to hers again but this time she pulled back.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered.

"But Tenten!" he grabbed her wrist as she was about to make a get away.

"Why?" he asked.

"I-I can't handle this Neji," she knew she had to say it or he'd never leave her alone, against her will she let the words pour out of her mouth like word-vomit, "I don't love you, and I don't think I ever will." Her stomach turned but he dropped her hand. Tenten ran as far as her bare feet would take her and she finally sat down under the cover of a tree and sobbed.

**Neji**

_I don't love you. _

But how? How could she not like him? After what he had just experienced he was sure she felt the same way. But apparently not.

His stomach was in a knot, and it seemed unsettled.

He thought.

_How could she just kiss me like that and leave?_

_Was it gross or something?_

He put a hand up to his mouth and breathed into it. His breath wasn't bad.

_Maybe she was just…._

He gave up. He couldn't think of a single reason that would explain why she said what she did.

Neji felt his insides turn and topple and a wave of nausea washed over him.

"Oh shit…." He muttered running to the edge of the bridge and hanging his head over. The sickening feeling of his lunch shot up from his stomach, and then he could taste it. He opened his mouth and vomited of the side of the bridge.

After the revolting affair had passed he stood up, quite woozy, and wiped off his mouth.

"Ugh." He said. Then it started again. He quickly ran over to the side of the bridge again and leaned over it.

_Ugh this feels horrible._

He thought waiting for the puking to start. His vision became fuzzy and the world seemed to be turned upside down. Then the bridge was high above him and he was plummeting towards the water below. The sickening feeling of free fall ended with a SPLASH as Neji hit the cold water and sank down to the river floor where it gradually became very dark and then nothing.

He sputtered and coughed. A bright light was shining in his face. It made it hard to see.

"Turn it off." He groaned.

"S-sorry Neji…." Said a timid voice. He heard small footsteps from across the room and then the light went out. He lifted his head up, it felt like a million pounds.

"Hinata?" he squinted, trying to see if it was really her.

"Y-yes it me." She stuttered tapping her two index fingers together. She was soaking wet.

"Why are you all….. wet?" he asked.

"Well, I, you see, I p-pulled you out of the river, nee-san." She stuttered meeting his eyes for a moment.

"And if she didn't you would've drowned, you idiot." Said a much deeper voice. Neji looked at the door and in it stood none other than Hiashi himself.

"Hiashi-sama."

"Yes, it is me. Seems like you're sick. I read your test papers, you have pneumonia. And you didn't help yourself by running around in the rain." Hiashi sighed and shook his head.

_Well that explains the vomiting. _Neji thought. He laid his head back onto the thin hospital pillow.

"Can I ask what the hell you were doing running around in the rain?" barked Hiashi.

"Training." Neji lied. Hiashi had no business screwing with his personal affairs.

"Training, hm. Well at least you had good intentions. But you know what they say, the stupidest things start out with good intentions. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go check you out so you can go home and rest." He said disappearing from the doorway leaving Neji and Hinata alone. A silence followed.

"Hinata?" Neji asked breaking the silence.

"Hm?"

"If you see Tenten, tell her I'm sorry too."

"O-ok." She stuttered. Hinata wanted to ask what he was talking about but she knew it would be better if she just agreed. Minutes later Hiashi reappeared.

"All right, let's go." He said. "Hinata," he looked over in her direction, "Help your cousin out of bed."

"Yes sir." She obeyed.

After helping Neji out of his bed, Hinata brought his arm around her neck and supported him the way home.

As for Neji, in his feverish state, he slipped in and out of consciousness, which made Hinata's job a lot harder. When they finally reached the Hyuga compound she escorted him up to his room and settled him into his bed. By that time she looked just as sick as he did.

"Hinata, go change out of those clothes before you catch whatever I do." He commanded, smiling weakly.

"Th-thank you." She said bowing and backing out of his room.

"No, thank you." He whispered letting sleep take over his body.

Hinata hurried to her room and slipped out of her damp clothes. She shivered as the cold air hit her from everywhere. A knock sounded on her door.

"J-j-ust a m-m-minute!" she called , stuttering more than usual. She quickly put on some dry clothes and grudgingly put on her back up jacket and slid her door open. Her father was waiting.

"Hinata, I need you to run and get some medicine from the hospital. I forgot to grab it when we were leaving. Can you do that?" he asked.

"Yes sir." She said.

"Good, take this," he handed her an umbrella, "It might start raining again."

She accepted the umbrella and ran to the door. She put on her shoes and zipped up her jacket and set off back towards the hospital.

She decided to make a detour through town, this way she might beat the rain. Quickening her pace as the sky got darker she successfully made it to the hospital before the rain started. She approached the middle aged medic nin at the counter.

"Um, I n-need the medicine for Hyuga Neji?" she asked.

"Of course, I have it right here." Said the medic nin, rifling around some place she couldn't see, then producing a white bag. "Here, have him take this two times a day." The medic handed the bag to Hinata.

"Thank you." She said bowing.

Hinata hurried out of the hospital as the sky began to spit.

"Oh…" she muttered opening up the umbrella. She was just about to sprint home when she saw a figure tottering a little down the street. She realized it was Tenten. Hinata ran over to her instead, aghast at what she saw. Tenten, usually upbeat and headstrong, looked like she had too just fallen in the river. She was clad in nothing but a tank and shorts, her hair was wet and matted, and her face was red and puffy.

"Um, Tenten?" she squeaked. Seeming not to hear her, Tenten padded along in a daze. It seemed that she also had no shoes on. Hinata grabbed her arm.

"Tenten, w-whats the matter?"

Tenten met her eyes but it seemed as if she wasn't really looking at her. Until she said,

"H-h-h-hinata?" she was shaking violently.

"Yes," said Hinata becoming alarmed, "its me."

"Can you take me home?" asked Tenten smiling feebly.

"Uh-huh." Said Hinata, slinging Tenten's arm over her shoulder and half helping half dragging her home. They came home to her worried parents.

"Tenten!" They yelled as she and Hinata came through the front door. They embraced her for what seemed like forever. They released her. Her father then slapped Tenten across her face.

"What the hell did you were doing! No note, and the door was left wide open, and now almost four hours later you show up like this!"he boomed. Tenten didn't cry, she merely looked at him, holding her stinging cheek. His silent fume was interrupted by Tenten lunging at him and wrapping her arms around his waist.

"I'm so sorry. I really am." She said burying her face in his clean smelling kimono shirt. Her father softened and hugged her back. All the while Hinata stood over in the corner sheepishly not knowing whether she could leave or not.

"All right dear, go up to your room and get some rest." Said her mom. Hinata let out a small _hem._ They both looked over in her direction.

"Um, if its ok, I have t-to t-tell Tenten something, c-could I go up there, for a minute?" Hinata stammered.

"Sure, but make it quick. She needs her rest."

"Thank you." Said Hinata bowing and going up the stairs. When she reached the top of the staircase she knocked on Tenten's door.

"Tenten? Can I come in, please?" The door opened and Tenten stood in the doorway.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I have a message……….from Neji," she said, "He wanted me to tell yo—

SLAM. Tenten had shut her door in Hinata's face.

"Tenten, just listen ok? Neji says he's sorry."

Hinata waited for a reply.

When it didn't come she sighed in defeat and retreated back down the stairs and out the door.

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed! And i hope you guys don't think its as sad as it was, its lightening up. And I strayed from the path and made a Hinata POV. Squee! And yes I want those 10 reviews before I post the next chapter. If i never get them... well... we'll see what happens.****  
No go!  
1,500 plus views! w00t! (throws party for self) **


	8. The almost forgotten entry

**A/N: So sorry! I haven't updated in a while. Such a long time that I had to read my whole story over again to see where I was going to go next. lol. We've started the standardized state test era in school so its been hard to stay up until midnight writing. I'm also sorry this chapter is short! Its a Tenten POV only and it explains why she's so hesitant about relationships. And yay! You did the review challenge thing! w00t. So do it again! Ten review please!**

After peeling off her drenched clothes, she slipped under the blanket on her bed, shivering.

_Damn, why does it have to be so cold?_ Tenten mentally whined.

She closed her eyes and her hook up came to mind.

The way he kissed her, the way it made her feel, she suddenly found herself quite warm and in no longer need of the blanket. She kicked it off with a grunt.

_I can't have a boyfriend._

_I just can't._

_Not after…. him._

She remembered him. After all these years she still remembered him. She had managed to keep him out of her mind…until now.

She remembered the diary she had shoved up on the top shelf of her bookcase. And even though her mind screamed no her legs involuntarily moved themselves over to the shabby bookcase. A corner of the little book peeked over the edge and as much as she didn't want to, she seized it and retreated to her bed turning the book over and over in her hands.

Tenten flipped through the pages until she came to the day it had all started, right after becoming a chuunin at age sixteen.

_Dear Diary,_

_I am __soooo__ happy to say that I finally passed the exam! I am now a __chuunin__! Sure it took me a year after Lee and Neji to get there but I'm still proud all the same. Who cares about them? And I also met this WONDERFUL guy! His name is Hiroki! Isn't that just SUCH a dreamy name? We met at the tower during the __chuunin__ exams. He was so funny. He just like, totally bashed Neji, __then__ hit on me. At first I thought he was sort of a jerk but then I got to know his sweet side. He likes sushi, especially going out for it, and just likes things quiet. Like a night on the town, except around the um….deserted parts? I __dunno__. His dream is to have a family with __some one__ he loves. AW! Isn't that so sweet? I'm practically __squeeing__ as I write this! And the best part is…..I'm going out with him TONIGHT! This is __gonna__ rock. _

The journal entry ended there. Tenten remembered that she was going crazy in her room, looking for a possible outfit. She probably washed her hair three times, just to get it to shine right, and skipped dinner because she was so nervous. And when she got there it didn't go as she had planned. Tenten turned the page.

_Dear Diary,_

_This has been the worst night of my life. As you might know tears are littering this page, __its__ because I'm just upset. REALLY upset. __Its__ kind of hard to admit but you're the only one I can tell. I'm no longer a virgin. There I wrote it. Several times in fact. I just kept erasing it. I'm such a coward and I don't want to admit it. I'll tell you what happened._

_Hiroki was pretty nice when I first got there. We went out for sushi and then just walked aimlessly around Konoha and talked. I was so preoccupied with trying to say the right thing that I didn't even know where he was leading me. Soon we got to the ruins of the town. __Where __Orochimaru__ attacked.__ (I know __its__ been a while. __Too damaged to repair though.)__ Anyway, he took me there and we sat down and then he asked if he could kiss me. I thought 'wow this guy is such a gentleman' and said yes. Once we were kissing I was so blissfully unaware of what his __hands were doing. And when I felt them sliding down my pants I freaked out and pushed him away. And then he…..changed._

By now tears were pouring out of Tenten's eyes. It was almost unbearable to keep reading but she did all the same.

_He hit me so hard that I blacked out for a couple of minutes I guess because when I came too his friends from the __chuunin__ exams were there. That was when I knew I had been tricked. And then they started to beat me up, calling me 'cheap whore' or 'bitch' or something equally nasty. And then his friends held me down while Hiroki undid the clasp of my pants. _

The entry ended there. She remembered her sixteen year old self. Sixteen year old Tenten didn't want to write or describe anything. It was just too horrible. Even now she had nightmares about it.

About how she wasn't pure anymore. How she was tricked and taken advantage of. She wouldn't let anything happen like that again.

The truth was she was so scared. This just wasn't 'weird feelings' and 'hormones' anymore. This was just sheer fear.

**A/N: Review now please! I need some feedback. Without feedback its like writing for NO ONE! And i do that all the time. (For myself) lol. So ten reviews or no update. I neeeeeeed some feeeeeddbaaaack! _whines pathetically._**


	9. 3 AM wake up call

**A/N: I'M SO SORRY! I haven't posted in a while! School has been really overwhelming these past couple of weeks. So here's the newest chapter. Its sort of uneventful but I needed an intro chapter to whats going to happen next. And I also felt guilty about not posting for a while...heh heh. Without further adieu, Here it is!**

After getting about an hour and a half of sleep Tenten was roused by her somewhat agitated parents. She blinked her crusty eyes until the face of her mom went into focus.

"Tenten, someone is here to see you."

Tenten could hear the urgency in her mother's voice and shook off her sleep and walked downstairs, her parents in tow.

_God, I hope its not Neji._

She thought as she descended the creaking wooden stairs. But standing in the doorway was the exact opposite of Neji, it was Lee.

"Lee? What the hell are you doing here? Its 3 AM!" asked Tenten stepping outside and closing the door behind her.

"Tenten, I know it is early but we have been summoned."Said Lee.

"What do you mean 'summoned'?" asked Tenten wrapping her bathrobe around her more snuggly. The early morning chill was starting to seep through it.

"I mean we have a mission. The hokage has sent for us." Said Lee, jerking his head towards the Hokage's office.

"Ok. I'll be right down." Said Tenten nodding her head firmly.

As she gathered her things in a hurry she tried to tame the growing anticipation in her stomach. Why would the hokage send for them at such an hour? It had to be very serious, she knew that, but what could Tsunade possibly have in mind? Tenten shrugged and slipped her backpack over her shoulders. She put on the bravest face she could muster, hugged her parents goodbye, and then exited out her front door where Lee was waiting.

"Ready." She squeaked.

"Hm." He nodded.

As they walked through the desolate streets of Konoha she listened. The air around her was humming. A sign that something was about to happen. The air always buzzed before a life changing moment. It was too quiet and then BAM! Something would come along and disperse the silence. Tenten blew her bangs out of her face and looked over at Lee.

He was unlike his usual self, happy and energetic. Now a cloud of seriousness surrounded him, and in it lie duty and focus. His eyes were staring straight ahead and he held his head high. She looked at his hands, they were balled up into fists. Tenten sighed, he did look like a man with a purpose.

She then studied her own body language. Her hands were nervously twittering at her chest, resembling a Hinata move. She kept her eyes on her own feet and nothing else and she seemed to shrug inwardly.

Tenten shook these thoughts of low self esteem away by focusing on her feet.

_Right, left, right, left, right, left._

She thought to herself. She did this for a while, listening to the gravel crunch under her feet. She practically collided with Lee when he made an abrupt stop.

Tenten looked up to see the famous entrance to the Hyuga compound. The anxiety she had just managed to tame flared up inside again, but with more power.

"Lee, what are we doing here?" she hissed. Lee stared at her blankly.

"To get Neji, of course." He said returning his gaze to the door. He brought a bandaged knuckle to it and wrapped three precise times. They echoed loud and reverberated against Tenten's 

inner ear. Then she heard the sound of soft footsteps and then the creaking of hinges, Tenten looked up.

It was Hiashi.

"What do you want?" he hissed.

"We have come to get Neji." Said Lee, blatantly.

"Well, you can't have him. He's sick." Said Hiashi, staring down the two teammates.

"But it is of the utmost importance, sir. Neji must come with us." Persisted Lee.

"He's too sick to move. Now leave." Said Hiashi, losing his mien of niceness. He turned to shut the door but another hand stopped it.

"Nonsense Hiashi-sama. I am fine." Said a voice from behind him. Hiashi spun around to find his nephew already dressed and ready to go. Tenten snuck a peak at him.

"Neji, you have pneumonia! You can't leave!" snarled Hiashi.

"I am fine. Just let me do my duty." Said Neji.

"No." said Hiashi with finality. Neji pushed past his uncle and stepped behind Lee.

"I will be back." Neji said, sort of smiling. Hiashi just simmered. He turned and slammed the door behind him.

"Now that we have everyone, we should go to the Hokage." Said Lee turning in the direction of the Hokage's office.

"I agree." Said Neji following close behind Lee. Tenten was the only one who hung back.

Her feet wouldn't move. He limbs were frozen in place. She couldn't even figure out why she just froze up but she guessed it was a combination of fear of the mission and fear of Neji. Her inner self screamed to move but she ignored it. A cold hand on her shoulder broke her from the trance. Opaque eyes with staring concernedly down at her.

"Is everything ok?" he asked softly.

"Mhm." Tenten muttered closing her eyes and willing herself to walk forward leaving a somewhat confused but not entirely fooled Neji.

He did not walk ahead of her this time which made her feel more self conscious. Tenten could feel his eyes glued to her back and could hear the closeness of his step. So she sped up. But as she did that he also sped up. It was like a little game.

It came to an end as they reached the looming Hokage's office, where surely they would finally know what they've been craving to know.

They could hear angry whispers as they got closer and closer to the big busted kunoichi's office. They abruptly stopped as Lee pushed the door open.

"Ah, yes. Good you're here." Said the big busted Hokage sitting on top of her desk. Tenten watched as Jiraiya slowly slipped out the window. She couldn't help wonder what they had been arguing about.

"Now, This is a very important mission I am assigning to you. It's an A rank mission." She said capturing the little focus the team had.

"I did send another team before you, but I received a distress call," she pinched her sinuses, "And I needed another team, short notice. So you guys were the only ones available not on other missions." She said. They teammates nodded. She released her sinuses and looked them all fiercely in the eye.

"This mission can't be failed. You're going to have to risk your lives and push the limit. I don't need any babies."

**A/N: Review please. :)**


	10. A veil is lifted, but will it stay?

**A/N: I'm drawing out the mission. Grrr... This is another sort of intro chapter. But its an extemely important one... i guess. You decide for yourselves. **

**Enjoy!**

"I don't need any babies. So if you don't think you can handle it get out of my office." She said scrutinizing the three teammates. When no one left she straightened and continued.

"All right, as you may know, there has been a stir up at the border between the land of fire and grass. My earlier team was supposed to maintain order and keep watch for any suspicious activity….." she sighed, "But I received a distress call about an hour ago. So I need you three to go check it out."

Tenten let out a small sigh.

_A border mission. That's seems easy. _

She thought.

Tsunade must've heard her relief because she then faced the group again.

"Don't let your guard down. This isn't as easy as it looks. I want you all to be cautious."

The team nodded their heads solemnly. Tenten tried not to show her embarrassment.

"Good," Tsunade confirmed, "Now here are you coordinates. Just go." She said ushering them out of her office. Neji took the map and slipped it inside his knapsack.

"We won't need this." He said. He looked at Tenten. "Are you ready to go?" he asked.

Tenten nodded, all the while avoiding his eyes.

"Good, Lee?" he turned in Lee's direction.

"I AM SO READY!" said Lee, pumped as ever. He 'wooed' a couple of times and set off for the gates, leaving Tenten and Neji behind by themselves. They soon fell into a comfortable trot, the gravel crunching under their feet the only thing breaking the silence.

Tenten could feel the awkwardness. It was suffocating. She felt she must break it but then again she didn't want too. She had to make it so that Neji doesn't like her. She had to keep up and not falter. Soon a wisp of brown hair whipped her face. Tenten snapped her head up to see that Neji had taken the liberty of walking in front of her. He was going at a fast pace, completely abandoning her. Suddenly she felt all alone.

Neji turned his head so he could see her, she saw a smirk upon his lips.

_Asshole. You're not going to win._

Tenten let her competitiveness take over her fear and she doubled her pace surpassing Neji. She looked back at Neji and smiled. Apparently he wasn't done yet, for he doubled his pace and passed her with ease, again turning around to silently gloat.

Tenten wouldn't have that. She began to run full force down the path, leaving Neji in the dust. She let out a small chuckle.

"Loser." She breathed.

"Loser?" Came a voice from beside her. Neji was running along comfortably beside her, hair whipping around his face. Tenten panicked and ran faster. She wasn't about to lose this game.

Soon they were both running down the path laughing. They ran past Lee and almost knocked him over. They heard his,

"Hey! Guys! Wait for MEee!"

Fade off as they ran.

"Ok! Ok! You win." Said Tenten panting heavily, knees buckling.

"Naturally," said Neji, smiling, and continuing to walk. Tenten got up and kicked his ass (literally). Neji jumped and turned around, hands rubbing his injured area.

"What was that for?" he asked incredulously.

"For being a jerk." Said Tenten smiling and continuing on ahead.

"How was I a jerk?" asked Neji catching up to her.

"You just were." Said Tenten giving a mysterious smile.

"I'm sorry." He said.

Tenten gasped a little and glanced at him, his eyes were wandering up ahead not paying attention to her, but she knew he was watching her in his peripheral vision.

_That was unexpected._

She thought. For Neji to suddenly gain some humility and apologize for something he really wasn't. Tenten was just joking, he wasn't really a jerk…. All the time.

Suddenly it hit her.

_He really does love me._

Tenten didn't know why or how but that suddenly popped in her mind.

_And I really love him._

It was like a veil had been lifted. She could see past all her doubts and fears and see the truth, the naked truth. She didn't care about Hiroki anymore or what he did to her. She was just a love struck child, she had moved along a lot since then. She had gotten stronger emotionally and physically. And deep down she knew Neji wouldn't look at her any differently if he knew how weak she had been, if he knew what had happened to her. The Byakugan can see all but love is blind. He is already blind to her flaws and mistakes, all he saw was her and how great she was.

She looked over at the lavender-eyed Hyuga and smiled inside.

She then slipped her hand into his which caused his lavender eyes to direct themselves upon her. She blushed.

He bent down….

She stood on her tip-toes…

And Tenten felt the stomach butterflies she had just tamed flutter around again….

They were so close….

"Hey! Do not leave me back there again! I was lonely!" screamed Lee jumping in between the two, ruining their perfect moment. Neji scowled at Lee who seemed oblivious to the fact that he had just interrupted a life changing moment.

"We should double our paces, we must get there!" yelled Lee ushering both shinobis forward all the while staying in between them.

Tenten gave a weak smile as doubts again fluttered her mind. She was a strong believer in karma and destiny and all of that crap so naturally she worked out a crack theory that her and Neji weren't meant to be together.

It was the post rejection kind of reasoning.

_We're not meant for eachother. If we were Lee wouldn't have interrupted our kiss. We would've kissed and have been done with it. We're not meant for eachother. The godly world is trying to tell me something. _

_Like if we had started going out we may break up our team or one of us may be killed on a mission because we were so absorbed in each other. And besides Tsunade doesn't approve of relationships between Shinobi on the same team. _

_That's it. It's a bad idea._

Tenten sighed.

She had gotten rid of all doubt and regained it in about the course of five minutes. Even though she tried to convince herself her knew reasoning was purely for the reasons she had just stated 

deep down she knew it was fear, she hadn't really gotten rid of it. Right before she kissed him she thought she had gotten rid of all of it but there was one sliver and it just grew with every passing second. Now she was disappointed in herself, she had just gotten rid of it and was disappointed that it was still there so she deluded herself into thinking her and Neji was a bad idea for reasons that didn't matter.

Tenten grabbed her sinuses. She was so confused.

**A/N: Review, I need some of dem. **


	11. Authors Note

**Ok.  
No this is not a chapter! I'm sorryyyy.  
I haven't updated in like, 2 months, and I know its aggravating.  
I'm going to continue this story until the end so don't worry. Its not ending here.**

**I haven't had much time to write with all of the things going on right now, so I apologize for the inconvience and I will try to get a chapter up ASAP.  
**

**--Haylii-Baylii**


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